Sunday, September 09, 2007
Seeking Certainty
I heard a recent news report regarding fortune-telling in
Obviously these people are living in crisis, and the intense desire for some certainty in their lives must motivate them to try these options. Yet I am a little bewildered that these highly religious people do not turn to the tenets of their faith for the strength, hope, and comfort that can sustain them through their trials.
I thought about the challenges and uncertainties facing my family and friends at this time. Will my son, the new dad-lawyer, pass his bar exam, and find meaningful and personally satisfying employment? Will my daughter adjust to a new life thousands of miles away from family and friends? How will my younger two sons fare as they navigate the complex intellectual, social, and emotional waters at a large university? What can my husband and I do to make our transition to life as “empty-nesters” as comfortable as possible? Will my parents be able to cope with the demands and stress of a move to a
My answers, or the peace I need when there are no clear answers yet, come from my faith. I trust in the divine assistance and guidance from a much higher power than special stones or rings, or leftover coffee. I find it perplexing that the Iraquis do not do the same.
My point is how one chooses to cope with problems of any significance. Even on a purely intellectual level, it seems to me that the more significant or consequential the problem, the more logical it would be to turn for guidance or strength to the main influence that gives a person direction in life: be it religion, science, humanism, or even a seer stone.
The fact is Islam is purported to be the major guiding influence in most ordinary peoples' lives in Iraq. So why do they turn away from their guiding light to that which is expressly forbidden by it?
By the way, the tragic, and even inhumane consequences of war do not constitute a basis for doubt in a higher power. The consequences are a direct result of man's refusal to wisely and benevolently use the agency given to him.
Nevertheless, if you believe that 'all bad things in life' are a direct result of man's refusal to wisely and benevolently use the agency given to him, and 'all good things in life' are caused by a higher power, then I can follow your argument somehow: like an innocent child God or Allah cannot be held responsible for whatever bad happens in the world, but one might get endeared by His smile.
However, owing to circumstances people might get convinced that 'all good things in life' have disappeared. They don't see any smile anymore. It's a horrifying idea, but I think that war might get people in such a situation.
Besides that I'm no authority on the Koran, so I don't know if soothsaying is expressly forbidden, or if it might be interpreted that way (or another). I mean, there are a lot of people who don't take the Bible literally but that doesn't make them 'bad' Christians, or so I think.
In my opinion, people who live under great stress and uncertainty will do things the rest of us see as odd. Having grown up in a major metropolitan area where violence was never far away, I adopted behaviors to protect myself. Those behaviors did not involve coffee grounds or charms, but they did protect me.
That said, many soldiers going into battle take with them items for good-luck. But with them is also a Cross, a Bible or some other religious article. While they have other items with them, they also bring with them their faith, both in articles and in prayers.
This may be true of the Iraqis in your story. While they are seeking earthly charms, etc. for protection in these uncertain times, I'm not sure it means they have given up on their faith.
I respect you thoughts and am in no way saying your interpretation of this story is incorrect.
Just my thoughts.
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